The White House on April 3 floated a reduction in spending for health agencies, including nearly $7 billion less for an agency that runs a program for young children.

The White House in its budget proposal to Congress asked for $111.1 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its divisions for fiscal year 2027.

If accepted, that funding would be a 12.5 percent decrease from the $126.9 billion lawmakers approved for HHS in fiscal year 2026.

Fiscal year 2027 begins on Oct. 1 and will run through Sept. 30, 2027.

President Donald Trump has asked for $441 billion more for defense and is proposing $73 billion in cuts across non-defense areas.

“The 2027 Budget builds on the President’s vision by continuing to constrain non-defense spending and reform the Federal Government,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote to Congress.

HHS cuts would primarily be made to the Administration for Children, Families, and Communities, which runs the Head Start child care program for young children from poorer families. The $6.9 billion in savings would be realized by ending grant programs, including some for preschools and some that help certain households pay for utilities.

The White House said in its proposal that the energy assistance program is not necessary “because States have policies preventing utility disconnection for low-income households, effectively making [the program] a passthrough benefiting utility companies, particularly in the Northeast.”

The administration also wants less money for caring for illegal immigrant minors who arrive at the border without a responsible adult. The reduction in funding “reflects the Administration’s successful efforts to secure the border and minimize the number of” those minors entering the country, HHS said in its budget proposal justification.

Another major cut would apply to the National Institutes of Health, which the administration said should receive $41.2 billion, a decrease of nearly $5 billion from the current fiscal year.

“[The National Institutes of Health] broke the trust of the American people with wasteful spending, misleading information, risky research, and the promotion of dangerous ideologies that undermine public health,” the White House stated.

That reduction would come in part from eliminating certain facilities, such as the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The White House criticized that institute as being replete with expenditures on diversity, equity, and inclusion, an ideology that Trump and administration officials have said is discriminatory.

Spending Increases

The proposal would also increase funding for certain priorities.

One area that could see a jump in funding is health care for American Indians and Alaskans through the Indian Health Service. The proposal features $2.6 billion in such funding, up by $1 billion from the current fiscal year.

Officials also want to increase funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by $232 million. Funding the agency “enables FDA to carry out its mission by ensuring the safety, quality, and effectiveness of foods, drugs, biologics, and medical devices,” HHS said.

The budget supports the Make America Healthy Again movement at the FDA, including efforts to remove dangerous chemicals from foods and develop research alternatives to animal testing, the FDA said in a document outlining the work it plans to do with congressional funding.

Congress

In response to the budget proposal, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said there were “some improvements over last year’s domestic discretionary budget request,” as well as “several shortcomings.”

“For example, the proposal includes unwarranted funding cuts in biomedical research,” she said in an X post.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, said in social media posts that they opposed the budget proposal.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement, “The president’s budget raises costs on families and accelerates the affordability crisis to pay for Trump’s war on Iran.”

“We deserve a country that helps lower costs, ensures people have health care, and fosters clean energy for a sustainable future,” he said later.

The White House in 2025 asked Congress to reduce spending on HHS by about 26 percent, but lawmakers rejected the proposal and provided about the same amount that they provided in fiscal year 2025.